Why A Successful Business Needs Soul Just As Much As It Does SEO

June 26, 2017

Today’s post is from Ashley Looker, an Eating Psychology + Empowerment Coach who shares the same values that I do. We’re both on a mission to help busy women stay sane and create a lifestyle that’s authentic to who they are.

When she pitched the outline for this post, I was beyond excited! You won’t be disappointed with the wisdom Ashley’s sharing about creating a business with soul. Don’t miss her quiz at the end!

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Let’s face it, SEO is a major driving force in your business – it’s a ‘must’ when it comes to driving traffic to your site, getting your blog posts read and getting your business found on Google. But here’s the thing – SEO doesn’t mean squat if your business doesn’t have Soul.

Allow me to explain – just as SEO drives traffic to your website, Soul drives connection. The Soul of your business (YOU!) helps create a relationship with your customers, it draws your visitors in on a deeper level – and will get them coming back again and again.

We’ve all been to websites where we’ve been totally turned off by the sales-y, inauthentic vibe. It only takes a few seconds for someone to sense this and click away, never to be back again. But if your business has Soul, heart, and a purpose that people can connect with, your business is sure to thrive in an ocean of businesses similar to yours.

Now I am not saying that SEO and Soul are all your business needs, but with these two powerhouses, your business is sure to get you far.

If you aren’t stoked about your business on a Soul level, if it doesn’t nourish you and fuel you in moving forward, you’re going to get burned out in a quick hurry. Almost anyone can slap a website together and pay someone to drive traffic – but Soul, deep purpose, and heart are things your business either has, or it doesn’t, and people notice almost immediately.

Ask yourself – why do I want to start a business? Is it simply to make money and grow a following, or is it because it feeds me on a Soul level?

Would this business add excitement, joy, and prosperity to my life? What’s driving me forward? Passion or profit?

2. Soul = sustainability

If your Soul is in the game, you’re in it for the long-haul. You want your business to last through the ups and downs of recessions, empty programs, and clients saying ‘no,’ right? Then armor up with Soul and SEO.

If your business is something that inspires you, motivates you, and nourishes you, people will feel that and want to keep coming back, or at the very least, they’ll tell their friends about you. Bonus.

As an entrepreneur myself I can almost guarantee you that there will be times when you ask yourself – “why am I doing this?! This is so hard! I am broke! What am I doing wrong?!” – complete with an ugly-cry-face. You wanna know what’s going to keep you going?

3. Your Soul sets you apart.

There are thousands of coaches, bloggers, yoga teachers, marketing gurus, jewelry designers and artists out there. In a sea of people living out their dream businesses, what’s going to set you apart is you showing up as the authentic YOU.

I remember when I first started my business I tried to be ‘professional’ and just like all my favorite coaches out there, when in reality I am much more goofy than I am professional, and have my own unique gifts to share with the world – there’s no need to mooch off anyone else’s!

They want to know your story and something they can relate to. Once your customers find you and feel a connection with you, they will want to support you. You, as a business owner and human being on this planet, have a unique talent that no one else has, and it’s up to you to show up authentically in it.

So infuse every part of your website with the authentic, Soulful you (and lots of SEO of course) and your business will shower you with all the benefits.

About Ashley Looker

Ashley Looker is an Eating Psychology + Empowerment Coach who teaches busy women how to stand in their power, speak their truth, get healthy, and live authentically. She supports women in creating their ideal life through personalized coaching programs, online journaling courses, yoga, positivity, and love. Lots of love. She believes in a world where women live wild and free from expectations, judgment, and comparison. When she’s not coaching you can find her obsessively writing, hiking, blasting music, and gobbling up any inspiration she can get her hands on.

You have raised a very critical point. I would rather say that the intent of search engine algorithms is to distinguish between real vs. fake signals. The ideas behind operating a business need to be the backbone of SEO campaigns, or the whole campaign will flop because Google’s search algorithms are very smart. When both the ideas and the campaign intent will combine, the business would get branded-up and Google will give it visibility for the whole search intent spectrum. The advantages of it will be far greater than targeting just a few keywords.